Orange Petals
by Falcom
Summary: Companion fic to Sharingan and Byakugan: :Naruto and Sakura friendfic, very slight hints of NejiSaku: A look at Hinata and Sasuke's blossoming relationship from the eyes of Naruto and Sakura.
1. Abeyance

**A/N:** I think I have the _worst_ ever addiction to procrastinating…since this was supposed to have started exactly _one week ago_. But hey, it's been started…that's good enough, right?

Oh! And if anyone wants someone coupled with Naruto or Sakura (not each other), just say so in a review, and I'll think about it! If the couple's requested enough, I'll probably put it in. :)

This fic's been dedicated to daydream14, for being my one and only loyal reviewer of Sharingan and Byakugan, _and_ Stand in the Rain!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**Orange Petals**

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_Abeyance_

The scene before him made him stop to watch. The young blonde-haired boy stared blankly at the clasped hands, then at the smiling faces of the unknown boy and girl.

Each day they would flounce by, and each day he, for some unknown reason, would stop to watch.

He didn't know them – he's seen them around Konoha and in the halls of the Academy but that's about it – so that couldn't have been the reason why. They certainly weren't his friends – how could they have been? – since all he ever hung out with were Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji, and really, they weren't so much as his friends as they were his acquaintances from the Academy.

They just…fascinated him, he supposed.

With a small, barely noticeable shake of his head, the boy continued on his way again; the boy and girl all but momentarily forgotten. His 'friends' were expecting him and he couldn't have them waiting _too_ long.

A few minutes passed in which the boy ran joyfully to his destination (the park), no thoughts beyond being able to re-enact one of the scenes from the video they had been shown in class that day flitting through his mind. When the park appeared in his view, a grin split his face as he sped up to the max speed that his small body could produce.

"Na-ru-to! You're _late_!"

Naruto grinned cheekily as his feet hit the wood chips that lie on the floor of the playground and waved at Kiba. "Wari! I saw those two kids again!"

"And you had to stop."

Naruto's eyes flitted over to Shikamaru, who had barely lifted his head to stare at him with one eye. "So?"

"Tch. Troublesome…and a waste of time."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he neared one of the unoccupied swing seats and sat on it. "So what do you guys wanna do today?"

The answer to his question went through one ear and out the other as the girl and boy from before appeared in his view; hands still locked. Something tugged in his heart, but he couldn't quite put a name on it. All he knew was that when he saw the two running around town, looking as happy as could be, a part of him couldn't help but be…

…jealous.

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**A/N:** The next one, unfortunately, won't be out today…so be on the lookout for it sometime in the future…and by God hopefully tomorrow!

**Read and review!**


	2. Baffled

**A/N:** Sorry this is late…but geez this one was oddly hard to get out O.o maybe it's 'coz I'm not liking the way Sakura was before, like, Shippuuden. XD And that includes childhood. Lol

**People who have read Sharingan and Byakugan **_**first**_**, ignore this xD**

First: people who haven't read Sharingan and Byakugan, _go read it_! You'll get a better understanding just what it is that I'm doing, and why I'm doing what I'm doing!

Second: The pairing will _not_ be NaruSaku, so…sorry. But if you've read SandB you'd already know that that couple has already been voted out ::sweatdrop:: If it had been my choice – and if I wasn't so attentive to my loyaler reviewers – I would have made it NaruSaku…but I _do_ listen to those reviewers who bother _to_ review. :

Third: Again, if you've read SandB, you'd understand just _how_ it is that I'm laying this out. The 'chapters' are more really supposed to be able to stand alone, but some of them won't be able to. But yeah, they're _supposed_ to be short and quick one-shot, drabble-like things. Sometimes they'll get longer, but most certainly no more than about 700 words per 'chapter'. Just depends on how I get around to writing it. ::winks::

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**Orange Petals**

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_Baffled_

Sakura sighed softly as she hugged her light brown teddy bear to her chest. Her eyes were seeking out a sight that had been told to her by one of the other girls in her class, and she had to check it out.

The most sought out guy (even though they were only six-years-old), Uchiha Sasuke, hung out with the silent _nobody_ of the Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Hinata. The mere thought of if made her shudder slightly in confusion more than anything.

Silently she continued on her way, slowly running her small fingers along the length of the bear's arms. No real thoughts ran through her mind, just a simple curiosity of _what_ it was that the two were doing.

Before she knew it, she stood near the street that the Hyuuga household was on, and glanced mutely at one of the buildings. To her luck, it was exactly the one she had been looking for and spotted both Sasuke and Hinata seated on the front steps, a book in each of their laps. She then raised an eyebrow and took a hesitant step forward, only to stop immediately when she saw Sasuke begin to laugh. It was more of a kind of chuckling, but she could see it all the same. Quietly she turned away from the scene, her brows curved downward in a kind of confusion.

What was so interesting about _reading_ anyway?

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**A/N:** Gawd, this one is so awful. ::cringes:: At least the others are better…'coz I could actually write them and did! All the others after this _**are**_ _**written**_,_so you won't have to wait more than a couple of days between each update. :_

**Read and review!**

_Oh!_ Also, if you want a fic, just review with the couple, theme, and anime/manga. If you don't want one, review anyway :


	3. Constant

**A/N:** Ugh. I was gonna post this last night...only my computer was crapping out and didn't want me to. v.v

I changed the filter for you, Flying Fox, not 'coz I care if I get read or whatever, but because you'd probably keep on bothering me if I didn't, ain't I right? And I personally believe that the filter is there for people to read stories _with those two people in it_, and that people shouldn't automatically assume that they'd be a couple. I clearly stated in the summary that this would merely be a friend-fic with Naruto and Sakura in it, and it wouldn't bother me one bit if NaruSaku fans didn't read. It's not for them after all. :)

Thank you for the review, Vanilla Cinnamon :)

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**Orange Petals**

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_Constant_

Naruto, aged 7, never felt more alone in his entire life.

Which was ironic, since he's _been_ alone all his life.

The young boy sighed and sagged in the seat of the swing; his tiny fingers curling loosely around the chains that held it up. The cuts on his legs hurt, causing him to unconsciously recall how they had gotten there in the first place.

He had been heading home from the old man's house (AKA the hokage's house), gripping some leftovers that had been given to him when some of the older boys from the academy took him by surprise. They had taken him from behind, yanked the food out of his hands, and forced him onto his knees. They then had laughingly pushed his face into the ground and walked away.

It had taken only a few seconds, and no one had bothered to try and help. He didn't even have enough time to defend himself or even _do_ anything besides what _they_ wanted him to do.

Naruto glared down at the woodchips that lined the ground and gave them a little kick. he was used to being muttered at, to being ridiculed and hated, but nobody had gone so far as to steal his food and rub his face into the dirt.

It was a change that he _really_ didn't like.

With a sigh Naruto got off the swing and began heading home. At least _there_ things were still the same.

"Sasuke-kun! Wait for me!"

Naruto blinked as the voice came from his left. Upon looking, he noticed the boy and girl he'd stop and watch all the time go by, the boy walking briskly while the girl attempted to match his pace. The urge to wave _almost_ struck him when the girl's head turned in his direction to give him a shy smile before speeding up again to catch her friend. Unknowingly a smile of his own slipped into place, his previous melancholy all but forgotten about.

It didn't matter if things changed in his life, so long as he had his _one_ constant in the boy and girl who he dearly wished he could befriend.

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**A/N:** Uhmm…so yeah…the next one should be out like, tomorrow! ALSO! If you don't have Sharingan and Byakugan in your story alerts, if you've…read it, that is, you'll end up missing a surprise within the next few days::winks::

**Read and review!**


	4. Deceptive

**A/N:** yah yah…so I put _Stand in the Rain_ on hiatus to work on this…I admit it. ::shifty eyes:: Or…well…partially admit it XD 

Thank you for the review:)

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**Orange Petals**

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_Deceptive_

Sakura followed along quietly, the dull white blossom she held in her hands sagging slightly; perfectly matching the mood of the goings on. The blanket of melancholy covered the village completely, running chords of discontent throughout all: young, and old.

The Uchiha family had been killed, leaving their youngest member alone and abandoned.

Sakura's eyes lifted from the flower in her hand to the two small figures that stood off a little eways away. Her eyes softened as she gazed at the boy's back, which was slightly slack as he stared out across the clear river. They then traveled over to the girl, where her eyes hardened minuetly. In her eyes the Hyuuga girl wasn't doing anything that _needed_ to be done, and rather was just standing there behind Sasuke doing absolutely nothing. In her eyes the girl was nothing more than a fake; nothing more than someone who only cared about _herself_ and _not_ the one who 'needed' the comfort that he so 'obviously' deserved.

The black, felt covered table appeared in front of her, bringing her back to what she was tehre to do. The pictures lining the table caught her eyes first, closely followed by flowers similar to her own that lie in front of them. As her gaze lingered on the serious expressions of all members but the youngest and his mother, she set the flower down gently and bowed slightly in respect for those passed. She then straightened herself and turned to facd the two by the rive and began walking, a determined look set in place. When she was mere feet away, she hid behind a tree in surprise as Sasuke began to speak.

"Hinata…"

The name slipped out softly as she watched Sasuke's head tilt to the side slightly, his gaze still attached to the river before them. A tiny smile slipped into place when Hinata jumped slightly in surprise.

"H-hai…Sasuke-kun?"

Silence spread out between them for a few moments before Sasuke sighed softly. "It's nothing. Just…forget about it."

Sakura watched as Hinata sent Sasuke a final worried look before returning her gaze to the river in front of them. Just as she was about to take a step forward, Sasuke's next whispered words made her stop in surprise.

"Arigato, Hinata…"

She turned away then in confusion, her young and innocent mind not understanding how _he_ could be grateful to _Hinata_ for something she _didn't_ do, but did all the same.

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**A/N:** Uhm…so yeah. Next one should be out tomorrow XD

YAY FOR VETERANS DAY AND NO SCHOOL!

**Read and review!**


	5. Enigma

**A/N:** meh. I didn't like this one so much…::Sweatdrop::

And if you didn't like the shortness of the previous 'chapters'…you certainly won't like the length of this one XD

Teh Review Response:

d 1 a b l 1 t a: Sharingan and Byakugan? That is the one that this one is...based...off of, in a way. It tells the Hinata and Sasuke POV of their 'relationship'. :)

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**Orange Petals**

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_Enigma_

He had _no idea_ how Hinata and Sasuke's friendship had died. One moment they were the best friends friends could be, and the next they were acting like the other wasn't just seats away.

Er…excusing the random glances from both sides, that was.

Silently Naruto fiddled around with the pencil he held in his hand and rested his cheek in the palm of the other. He yawned noticeably – which earned him a heated glare from Iruka-sensei – and allowed his gaze to slide on over to Sasuke, where they rested on the boy in mild amusement.

Sasuke was staring at Hinata out of the corner of his eye, attempting to be as discreet as possible. Which, obviously, was _not_ working.

What he did not understand, however, was _why couldn't they just talk to each other again, when they so clearly wanted to?_ Whatever it was that had seperated them simply had to be forgotten, right? Why make such a big deal out of it?

The question would remain unanswered, left to fester and only serve to bother him all the more.

When Sasuke's eyes flickered over to him and narrowed in visible annoyance, Naruto held his gaze as if being challeneged. Only when he heard the tell-tale sound of paper rapping against a table did Naruto reluctantly look away, temporarily breaking off their glaring contest.

He had _no_ idea _what_ he did wrong, all he knew was that Sasuke's evident dislike of him was _very_ annoying.

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**A/N:** Again, the next one should be out tomorrow :)

And, as I said two 'chapter's ago, if you don't already have Sharingan and Byakugan in your story alerts, put it there or you'll miss a surprise :)

**Read and review!**


	6. Fascination

**A/N:** _Almost _didn't get this out today XD Kinda forgot that I had teen court… ::coughs::

And if anyone is curious, the ages of Naruto and Sakura are the same of Hinata and Sasuke in the same-letter chapter in _Sharingan__ and __Byakugan_. So that means Sakura is eight here. :)

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**Orange Petals**

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_Fascination_

Sakura sighed softly as she chewed the end of her pencil. Her gaze, although locked on Iruka-sensei, wasn't focused on anything in particular, but was rather glazed over and unseeing. Her mind was unfocused on whatever it was that Iruka-sensei was saying and instead was on the two people who sat a little ways behind her.

She too had noticed their lack of action with one another, and was also _very_ curious about it.

She had learned pretty quickly that Hinata was _not_ interested in Sasuke _that way_, and appeared to be rather indulging herself in staring quite opening at Naruto, although the dense idiot never noticed. It was strange to be sure, and the majority of her was cheering that the only one Sasuke might _ever_ be interested in didn't reciprocate the feeling, therefore leaving him to be free to the other girls; herself most certainly included. Yet a smaller part of her, the small spot of deep intelligence that would become apparent in later years, wondered about what happened, and wondered about how, on the outside anyway, neither were affected by their newly discovered distance.

But of course she couldn't enter their minds and see what they saw, think what they thought. She was sure, no matter how much it bothered her, that they _were_ affected by their distance, and that the glances they stole at one another every-so-often was the start of a new, far stranger relationship.

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**A/N:** Soo…about the length of the 'chapters'…they _should_ become longer around when Naruto comes back after the two year time-skip, but could start just a tad before that. So yeah. :)

**Read and review!**


	7. Gaffe

**A/N:** …sorry it's late XD

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**Orange Petals**

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_Gaffe_

Naruto groaned softly as he rotated his shoulders to relieve them of the discomfort that his bag was inflicting on him.

Today…was a _good_ day.

The old man had given him stacks of ramen packages early that morning, and he could tell that the chuunin who had delivered them to him had been a…little more than peeved. Of course, when in the face of ramen, someone else being peeved _really_ didn't matter any.

So yes, his day was going good…

…even though it's only been a few (5) hours since he had woken up.

"Gomen ne, Sasuke-kun…"

Naruto's eyebrows shot up in surprise as Hinata ran past, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Stunned, he watched her turn a corner a little ways away and waited until he no longer could hear the light pitter-patter of the girl's footsteps. A mildly annoyed look then replaced the stunned one as a mocking grin slipped into place.

He had no idea _what_ he did, but apparently kami didn't want him to be happy.

Slowly he turned in the direction that Hinata had come running from, the look of annoyance still in place. Whatever had happened, it had been Sasuke's fault, and that's all that he needed to know. "Oi! Sasuke-teme! Come out! What did you do to Hinata-chan?!"

At once he realized his mistake when a large group of girls all as one turned to face him, fire burning in their eyes. A thin bead of sweat trickled down the contour of his face as the girls glowered dangerously at him and took a single step towards him, causing him to take a step back in response. When his back touched the wall behind him, he knew he was in for it.

"Um…guy–er…girls? Look, I didn't mean it! Well, I did but–ack!" Naruto yelped in surprise as the girls tackled him to the ground, leaving no room to flee or even fight back.

All the while in the background Sasuke was chuckling quietly to himself, for one being glad for his fanclub.

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**A/N:** _hopefully_ the next one will be out tomorrow…but I'm not sure. I'll be updating more over Thanksgiving break though, including the special 'thing' that I am writing for Sharingan and Byakugan. :)

**Read and review!**


	8. Hauteur

**A/N:** Soo…I have no internet access at my house…which sucks. vv;

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**Orange Petals**

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_Hauteur_

"_Sakura, matte."_

_Sakura turned to the speaker, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Her vision clouded further with unshed tears as the boy stopped in front of her, a single white rose being clutched tightly in one hand. His eyes were downcast slightly, but she could still see the slight frustration that lay within their depths._

"_H-hai, Sasuke-kun?" Her voice was shaky at best, and she mentally scolded herself for breaking so easily in front of her 'true love'._

"_We need to talk." His gaze suddenly shot up to connect with hers, and, at the strength of the emotion that she could see, left her breathless. Before she even had the time to respond properly he was shoving the flower into her hands, his gaze still locked on hers. "For you."_

"_Demo…what about Hinata-chan?" Her hands were shaking as she slowly brought the flower to nose, a light blush gracing her cheeks as her eyes settled on the white petals. Daintily she took a small sniff of the flower, and let out a quiet sigh of contentment._

"_She's not the one I want." Sasuke's hand slowly rose to caress her cheek, his eyes shining with a strange brightness. "The one I want is–"_

"Oi! Fore-head-girl! Listen to me!"

Sakura blinked in surprise, her eyes still glazed over slightly from her daydreaming. It took her a moment, but her dazed state completely dissolved and saw that her best friend was and had been stabbing her quite ruthlessly with the back end of her pencil. The look on the blonde-haired girl's face was one of complete annoyance, and seemed to have almost reached its peak.

"What is it, Ino-pig?"

"You don't _ever_ listen to anyone, do you?" Ino sighed in exasperation before motioning with her arm towards the front of the room. "Iruka-sensei is doing a random transformation test! Have you been practicing?"

"You _almost_ have it, Hinata! You've shown a lot of improvement in the past half a year, good job!"

Rather than reply to Ino's inquiry, Sakura's attention was drawn to the front of the room where Iruka-sensei was patting Hinata, whose face was slightly flushed in embarrassement, on the back, and grinning like a proud father. Languidly she turned her head around to take a look at Sasuke, and saw, with mild annoyance on her part, that he too had his attention on Hinata, only his gaze was more intense than anyone else's.

Hinata was small and shy, and on top of that she had a crush on Naruto. So why did Sasuke continue to pine after her in secrecy? What did he see in her? What part of Hinata could he see, that no one else knew existed?

"Sakuraaaaaa, hey! You're up!" Ino jabbed her harder than before with the back end of her pencil and nodded her head in Iruka-sensei's direction, who was staring at Sakura in mildly amused annoyance.

Silently Sakura stood and sent Ino a look that clearly said "that's not funny" before walking down the isle towards the front of the room. All the while the thought ran through her head that Hinata wasn't good enough for Sasuke, and that she was a better candidate for Sasuke's affections.

And, truth be told, she'd do _anything_ get him to like her.

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**A/N:** ick. I was gonna do something else, but you know? For the word 'hauteur' – which pretty much means arrogant – I thought that Sakura coming to the conclusion that she 'deserved' Sasuke more than Hinata fit better XD

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	9. Infringe

**A/N:** So…it's been like what, ten days since I last updated? YAY! A new record! XD

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**Orange Petals**

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_Infringe_

Being bored like he ended up _always_ being, Naruto couldn't help but notice how Sasuke – his on-again, off-again friend – had once again lost interest in whatever Iruka-sensei was saying – it _sounded_ like he was talking about the new teams they were going to be sorted into, but Naruto couldn't be so sure – and had occupied himself with glancing at, or rather, staring at, Hinata, who looked attentive and alert to what their sensei was saying. Now, he _normally_ felt victorious for simply spotting the aloof Uchiha staring at the only girl he'd ever stare at, but, well, today was especially boring so that called for more entertainment of Sasuke-like proportions.

And, of course, how could he have proper Sasuke-esque entertainment _without _the spoken of Uchiha boy?

Naruto grinned widely to himself as he tore a sheet of paper out of his notebook, scribbled a note on it, then quietly crumpled it into a tight ball.

When Iruka-sensei turned to write something on the board, he knew it was time.

Naruto quickly turned to face Sasuke and lauched the paper ball. Still grinning widely, he watched as the ball bounced on Sasuke's table and rollled bumpily to a stop directly on top of Sasuke's notebook. The boy's charcoal-colored eyes shot to him, curiosity and mild annoyance swimming in their depths. In response Naruto motioned for Sasuke to unravel the ball and read its contents.

Sasuke read for a couple of seconds before returning annoyed eyes on Naruto. Silently he mouthed, 'What the hell do you mean by that, dobe?'

Naruto, _still_ grinning like a hyena, motioned with his head toward Hinata and mouthed back, 'Don't deny it, teme! You're _always_ staring at Hinata-chan, and she's always staring back! Do something about it!'

Sasuke snorted as he glanced at Hinata, who had eyes _exactly_ where he had thought they'd be. 'Where are _you_ looking, baka? Hinata doesn't look at me.'

Naruto blinked in surprise as he looked at Hinata and found himself staring into her pale lavender orbs. He watched in confusion as she yelped quietly, turned a very dark shade of red, and averted her gaze from his general direction. Even more confused than before, he returned his gaze to Sasuke who was glaring at him hatefully. Taken aback by the sudden anger directed at him, Naruto completely forgot about staying quiet and stood quickly, causing his chair to clatter loudly against the wooden floor. "What did I do, teme?!"

Silence covered the classroom after his yell. Immediately he realized his mistake when Iruka-sensei turned to face him, a _very_ annoyed look on his face. "Na-ru-to! Out!" Iruka-sensei thrust his finger toward the door, anger overlaying his words. "You know the drill!"

Sadly, yes, he knew the drill.

"Hai, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto grumbled to himself as he fixed his chair and began walking toward the front of the room. Before he got very far, however, he turned and faced Sasuke who had a barely noticeable smirk about his lips.

'You really _are_ a baka, dobe.' Sasuke mouthed as his smirk stretched.

Naruto clenched his jaw in annoyance as he turned again to head out the door.

Apparently curiosity did more than just kill the cat. Apparently it _loved_ to punish people as well.

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**A/N:** Yeah…so as I said in SandB, updates will come slow and far between 'coz school's _almost_ out for winter break, and I have to actually try and get some of mah essays and whatnot out of the way before I completely end up failing the finals. XD But I _will_ get out _Stand in the Rain_'s next chapter on Christmas Day! That's a promise that I'll keep! xD

**Read and review!**


	10. Judicious

**A/N:** Ano…so I am going to post another one later today 'coz this one's so gawd awful short. Xx;

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**Orange Petals**

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_Judicious_

'What. The heck. Just happened?'

It took a moment to register in her head, and when it did, she had two urges.

One, to laugh hysterically.

Two, to _kill_ Naruto. Although technically it wasn't his fault.

Needless to say, urge number two won.

"Naru_to_!" Her growl was feral, and matched the growls of all the girls in the class, except one.

But, of course, that had been expected.

Sakura grinned in satisfaction as her fist collided with the side of Naruto's face. As she moved in to make another blow, her gaze automatically sought out Sasuke's form to see what his reaction was; whether he was pleased or displeased with her and the other girls' immediate 'protection' of his 'innocence'. To her annoyance and disbelief, he was _again_ eyeing Hinata with that slightly puzzled, mostly caring look of his.

And, of course, that only served to piss her off more.

Too bad for Naruto.

But he deserved it, for 'violating' Sasuke.

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**A/N:** Meh. For the life of me I couldn't write this one XD Ain't that sad?

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	11. Keen

**A/N:** Okay…so this one's length isn't _too_ much better, but hey, it's longer than the last one XD

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**Orange Petals**

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_Keen_

Okay, so, he should have _known_ that following Sakura would lead him to his death.

But he wasn't thinking at that moment, okay?

"I'm going to look for Kakashi-sensei. _Don't_ follow me, got that?!"

"Yeah yeah." Naruto grumbled to himself as he watched Sakura stalk off. With a sigh and a hand still held to his quickly reddening cheek, Naruto turned and began to return to the location where they were _supposed_ to meet their chronically late sensei.

If Sakura found him first, that was _her_ business.

Naruto sighed once more as their packs came into view. Sasuke's company wasn't any better than a _really_ peeved Sakura's, but who else did he have to hang out with at the moment? Kiba? Nah, he left already…so who–

"Dobe."

Naruto jerked back in surprise as a neatly wrapped box few dangerously close to his face. Not knowing what else to do, and not given adequate time to even _think_, Naruto caught the box easily and set angry eyes on Sasuke's taut form. "Oi! Sasuke-teme! What was that for?!"

"Shut up, baka, and just eat." Sasuke's own gaze was locked on a point that Naruto couldn't quite see, and wasn't entirely sure if he _wanted_ to see whatever it was that Sasuke was looking at.

When he had approached Sasuke to what he figured was an adequate distance, Naruto plopped himself down on the ground and set the box in his lap. Wordlessly he undid the little knot that closed the cloth around the box and set it aside. He then gently pried the top of the box off and immediately his mouth began to water. "Itadakimasu!" His hands quickly sought out the chopsticks that lay within the box and commenced his eating session.

"…You're _really_ disgusting to watch, you know that?"

Naruto grinned at Sasuke's declaration and pointed the chopsticks in his direction. "_You're_ just jealous that Hinata-chan gave _me_ food and _not_ you!"

Sasuke snorted as he turned away and glared at a random point in the forest. "Hn."

Naruto held in a laugh as he quickly shoved an egg roll into his mouth.

Sasuke was _totally_ jealous.

…_Definitely_ the easiest thing to see in the world.

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**A/N:** ::coughs:: So yeah. I really should be writing my essay. ::Dies::

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	12. Lament

A/N::yawn:: Marry late Christmas…and early New Years. ::shifty eyes::

Yah yah I haven't updated _Stand in the Rain_…I'm currently engaged in a love-hate relationship with it. ::side glance:: I'll get it out sometime tho'…my new goal is the first of January…but we'll hafta see, ne?

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**Orange Petals**

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_Lament_

_Ticking ticking,_

_time was flying._

_disappearing,_

_dwindling down._

_gone to be,_

_never again,_

_to be seen._

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"Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Where are you?!"

Her breathing was ragged and painful, her chest tightening from the lack of air.

"_Naruto! Sasuke-kun!_"

Her shoes tapped lightly against the cobble stone road, her eyes seeking out the shapes she so _dearly_ wished were nearby. But her frantic searching revealed no figures in the distance in any direction, no hunched over bodies of her two teammates. No, not teammates.

_Friends_.

"N-Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura perked slightly as she came to a stop. Unconsciously she leaned against the wall behind her and locked eyes on the small figure who was also searching. 'Hinata…'

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun!"

She couldn't help it when her eyes narrowed slightly, her mind wandering to wonder at _who_ Hinata wanted more.

And truth-be-told, she couldn't hate herself more because of it.

---

**A/N:** Chuuu…twas realleh short. ::sideways glance::

**Read and review!**


	13. Maladroit

**A/N:** Hai hai…_Stand in the Rain_ is _almost_ done. ::Winks:: Just got a bit more to do on the fight scenes…and then I'm pretty much done with da chapter. )

Demo…I don't have internet access at home anymore – stupid viruses killin' it… – so _Stand in the Rain_ ch.7 probably will be delayed…again. vv;

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**Orange Petals**

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_Maladroit_

Naruto brushed aside the beads of sweat that dotted his forehead and let out a low, weary sigh. Unconsciously his gaze lifted from the ground below him to the general direction that Konoha was in. He could feel it there, a tug upon his rapidly beating heart, and allowed a small smile to slip into place.

It had been half a year since he'd last seen anyone: Sakura, Kakashi, Hinata…and roughly half a year since Sasuke had left, presumably never to return.

Upon memory of Sasuke, Naruto's eyes narrowed and he unconsciously clenched his fists at his sides.

The bastard had left them all, abandoned everything for power. _Power_. Now how selfish was _that_?

"Heads up!"

Before Naruto had adequate time to react, a dark blue water bottle smashed into his face then fell harmlessly to the ground. Not thinking about what he could've done in retaliation – like throw the water bottle _back_ – Naruto quickly sought out the one who threw the bottle. Luckily, he didn't have to look far. "Oi! What the hell was that for, ero-sennin?!"

"I _tried_ to catch your attention, but you were daydreaming too much for it to work." Jiraiya shrugged and fought valiantly to keep the grin from slipping into place. But, of course, such a feat was impossible, and consequently the grin lit up his features with great amusement. "Only a truly useless ninja would be daydreaming during training! Get back to work!"

Naruto growled low in his throat and sent Jiraiya a very heated glare. Rather than responding, which was amazing for him, he picked up the bottle and roughly brought it to his lips to take a drink. When he finished, he closed the top, wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and threw the bottle back in Jiraiya's direction. To his annoyance, the bottle was caught harmlessly and set gently down next to his 'sensei'. He then turned away from the mocking grin on the ero-sennin's face, and returned hardened eyes to the landscape before him. Again the tug on his heart strengthened, and the anger seeped out of his slackened body.

He would return sometime, and then he would be ready to fetch Sasuke. All would be back to normal, and no more tears would be shed.

Because he knew that both Sakura and Hinata had shed plenty, and he didn't want them to have to cry any more.

At the very least, he would keep that silent promise to himself.

---

**A/N:** I have up until 'Q' thought up…so these should be comin' out every few days over the next like, week. _Stand in the Rain_ as I said last chapter should be up around the first of January (probably on the second, actually)…and _hopefully_ the third part to the side-story in _Sharingan and Byakugan_ will be out soon after that.

**Read and review!**


	14. Nebbish

**A/N:** so uh…Happy Belated New Year! XD I gots another one for y'all…and most definitely an update of _Stand in the Rain_ later on today::cheers::

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**Orange Petals**

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_Nebbish_

"Here."

Sakura blinked as a steaming, decorated cup was shoved into her field of vision. Taking the cup with a small smile of thanks, the pink-haired girl locked her gaze back on the heiress that was training a few feet away. Wordlessly she blew lightly to cool the liquid and took a sip before setting the cup down next to her with a sigh of contentedness. "Compliments to whoever made the tea."

Neji's eyes stayed locked on Hinata's form as his cheeks colored very slightly. "Ari…gato."

Sakura's gaze shot to Neji's face in surprise, before a soft laugh bubbled its way out. "_You_ made it, Neji-kun?" A teasing smile slipped into place as she added, "I'd never have pegged you as the type to make tea."

Neji grunted in response. "…Hinata-sama…showed me how."

"In exchange for training, she's teaching you the art of…tea making?" The smile stayed in place as she chuckled softly. "By the looks of it, both of you are doing good with your teachings."

He scoffed lightly and glanced away from Hinata's form. "She's still weak."

Sakura mock-growled as she bumped Neji with her shoulder. "But she's gotten better, hasn't she?"

"She…has." Neji relented with a soft sigh of defeat. "Each day's training should be more than she could handle, but her determination keeps her going strong."

"She's surpassed your expectations, huh?" Sakura laughed softly as she patted Neji on the back twice before returning her hand to her lap. "I'm sure…even Sasuke-kun would be proud of her."

Neji's eyes hardened slightly at the mention of the Uchiha boy. Rather than say what he dearly wanted to – which was that Sasuke was an idiot for leaving and giving his cousin great heartache, although she refused to show it – Neji merely grunted and returned appraising eyes to Hinata's form. "He'd…better be."

---

**A/N:** I dunno why…but I keep doing slight NejiSaku-ness…when I'm not really much of a NejiSaku fan XD sterange, ne?

School's comin' up soon (on the 7th and I've done _nothing_ work-wise that I was supposed to do for history…) so I might be a little more…quick with updates 'coz I don't pay attention in class and I end up writing instead. XD

Yeah. ::coughs:: I'mma bad student.

**Read and review!**


	15. Obstinate

**A/N:** Okay so…my writing schedule got put into a shredder and I can't seem to recover it. ::Sweatdrop:: _Basically_ meaning that all that I tried to have done by the end of this month I _know_ won't end up happening. More about that after the chapter since I'm sure that's more important to most of you. :)

'Nother reason why instead of this being _longer_ than the norm which I had originally planned, it seems to be a bit…shorter.

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**Orange Petals**

---

_Obstinate_

"Ngh…It's good to be back, ne ero-sennin?"

"Hai, it sure does."

They were just outisde of Konoha, the walls surrounding the village very much visible to their eyes although they were about a ten minute walk away. It was their first time stepping on the village's ground in a couple of years, and Naruto was glad to see that nothing had changed.

"First thing I'm gonna do is get some ramen!" Naruto grinned as his stomach rumbled in hasty agreement.

"You're not going to look for Sakura?"

Naruto paused and blinked once. "She's probably at Ichiraku's already, knowing I'd be back!"

Jiraiya sighed. "So she's a clairvoyant?"

"Ye– a what?"

"Nevermind." Jiraiya rolled his eyes, an amused look in place.

Naruto sent Jiraiya curious look before shrugging and grinning again. "Then we'll find Kaka-sensei and we'll go bring Sasuke-teme for H–" Naruto paused in surprise at what he had been about to say.

Weren't they trying to bring Sasuke back to bring Team 7 back? So why had Hinata's name been the thing to almost come out?

"I'll first get ramen where I'll meet Sakura-chan, then we'll find Kaka-sensei and go bring Sasuke back...for everyone." The words came out quietly, a rare show of Naruto's future maturity. The spark in his eye was completely determination; for which task, it couldn't be said.

--

**A/N:** Okay so, continuing what I said from above…

I had originally planned for this fic thing to be finished by the _exact_ end of this month. Yeah, today's only the 10th, but I can't see that happening. Neither can I see the last two parts of _Sharingan and Byakugan_ coming out any time soon either. Nor can I see me picking up _Stand in the Rain_ next month either…yeah, heartache. ::sideways glance::

The why?

My classes at school are a lot more…restricting than I had originally thought they'd be. I have part-time night classes for Astronomy (meh. But at least we get hot chocolate) and my history class just completely and utterly sucks with how much work we're going to be given. We're expected to read so much I might as well read the whole library. vv; Stupid history class.

On top of all that, I have Teen Court that I'm participating in, which completely takes away any chances to work on Wednesdays.

Junior year at high school really sucks for me. XD

I'll work on writingz when I can, but that really won't be too often. Gomen.

**But still…Read and Review please!**


	16. Pacify

**A/N:** Meh. I'm tryin' with the updates, but school really sucks and gives me like, no time whatsoever to do mah own thing.

And eh…guess there's some one-sided SakuSasu here…but it's icky to meh. XD

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**Orange Petals**

---

_Pacify_

"Naruto! Calm down! I'm sure Sai really isn't going to do what it _seems_ like he's going to do!"

"How would you know?! He could be attacking Sasuke-teme right now!"

"_Naruto!_ I– Sai!"

The boy glanced at her quickly before mouthing her name and slipping into the room he ahd been standing in front of.

"You bastard! Come back here!"

Sakura sighed deeply in exasperation as she rushed after Naruto in hopes of keeping the boy from _killing_ their other teammate. Truth-be-told, she had mixed feelings about Sai and the predicament he had brought them all into; she wasn't sure what was truth or lie anymore. The betrayals involving said emotionless boy came one after another leaving her confused and anxious, and a little more than worn out.

"Sasuke-teme!"

Her heart began to beat rapidly as she neared the door, and wehen she saw the boy she had once 'been in love with', her breath lodged in her throat. "Sasuke-kun!"

"Yo, dobe."

His voice hadn't changed one bit, although it had a slightly raspy undertone to it. He hadn't bothered to acknowledge her for more than a quick glance in her direction. Then it hit her that Naruto was probably talking and probably wasn't saying anything nice…to put it midly. "Naruto–

–Sasuke-kun!"

Her sentence had been abruptly cut short as Sasuke began to sway dangerously before crumpling like dead weight to the ground. Seconds passed in silence as the three teenagers stared at the body in shock, before being 'awakened' by the urging of Yamato.

"Sakura! Check him; make sure he's still alive. Naruto, Sai. Follow me with him when she's done."

Sakura nodded hesitantly as she stepped with shaky legs towards the raven-haired boy. When she reached him, she knelt carefully next to his neck and pressed her forefinger and middle finger against the artery just below his chin. He breath hitched when no beat came, causing tears to prick at the corners of her eyes. Just as one single tear started to leave a salty trail down the side of her cheek, a faint beat pulsed through her fingertips. "He's…alive." Sakura slowly let out the breath she had been holding and let her hand slid from the boy's neck down to the ground beside her. Immediately her medic side perked up, completely changing her previous deamenor.

Her eyes roamed over the boy's limp body as she softly began to touch his face, hands, chest, and legs with chakra laced fingertips. When she finished, she gently lifted once of his eyelids, the other, then turned to face Yamato and the two boys were had been watching her closely. "He's been poisoned, but it's not yet fatal from what I can see. If I can find an antidote here, he should be alright by the time we returned to Konoha."

"Alright." Yamato nodded, giving her permission to go on the hunt while he motioned for the two boys to take Sasuke with them. "We'll meet you where we were previously. Be careful; we don't know what's still around."

"You too Yamato-taichou, Naruto, Sai." Sakura looked at each with a small smile before laying eyes on Sasuke's ragdoll-esque form being held up by Naruto and Sai on either side of his body. 'You too, Sasuke-kun. Hinata-chan…Hinata-chan will be happy with you back."

--

**A/N:** It's kinda hard to write about a relationship when the two people in question aren't around the other two people who are 'talking' about them XD But that lil' hurdle's gonna end soon, since Sasuke's comin' back to Konoha next (?) 'chapter'!

**Read and review!**


	17. Quirk

**A/N:** ho-eh…the only thing that lets me know that people read what I've written are the hits! But…no reviews! Ne, why? Just curious. Anawho. This one's much shorter than I had originally planned for it to be…but eh.

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**Orange Petals**

---

_Quirk_

…There were more people gathered around to see them return than he had originally thought there'd be.

Sure, he had expected for _some_ sort of crowd to greet them after Yamato had sent word back…but this…_this_ was a little rediculous.

"Alright people, nothing to see here! Move along, move along!"

Naruto grinned in thanks as Kotetsu managed to disperse the crowd, and watched for a few seconds as the jounin returned to his post while keeping eyes on them. He then sighed and shifted Sasuke's position on his shoulder. "_Teme!_ You could at least hold your own weight!"

"And how…do you possibly…expect me…to do that, Usuratonkashi?" The words were whispered, and barely managed to even come out of the boy's mouth without him fainting once again from the extreme exhaustion that had been brought on by the slow-acting poison.

"Ah, you're awake!" Naruto glanced down at Sasuke's form, and found that the boy's dull charcoal-colored eyes were focused elsewhere. When he followed Sasuke's gaze, his eyes landed on the slightly hunched over form of Hinata, who was looking right back with a very surprised look on her face. "Hey, Hinata-chan! We're back!"

Of course, he knew that it would've been futile to try to get her attention so soon; with Sasuke back Hinata wouldn't pay attention to him. At least, not as much as before. When her eyes merely flickered to him and immediately returned to Sasuke's form, Naruto _knew_ things were going to be a little strange from now on.

--

**A/N:** Haven't got a clue when the next one'll come out, but hopefully it'll come soon…as will the update for the third part of the side-story in _Sharingan and Byakugan!_

**Read and review!**


	18. Retrospect

**A/N:** I'mma try to get this fic finished by the end of the month…but I have no idea if I'll be able to. :P But we'll just hafta see, ne?

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**Orange Petals**

---

_Retrospect_

…Now that she thought about it, she probably _could_ have delivered Sasuke's presents before they had left. But you know, it was _much_ more entertaining this way!

Sakura chuckled softly into her bowl of ramen – which kind of made her miss Ichiraku's since the ramen she was eating she wasn't even sure if she could _call_ it ramen – as she lazily looked at her companions who were staring distastfully into their own bowls of ramen. Well…Naruto was staring distastfully while both Kakashi and Sai were just staring at the bowl with blank looks set it place.

But that, of course, had been to be expected.

"So you're _sure_ teme got our gift?"

Sakura sighed softly in mild annoyance before sending Naruto a forced smile. "_Yes_, Naruto, I'm sure he got it. I _did_ give it to Hinata-chan after all."

"…Right." A strange look entered Naruto's eyes before being replaced by his customary look. "I wonder what Hinata-chan got him…"

"Probably something special." Sakura grinned to herself as she shoved another 'scoop' of ramen into her mouth with her chopsticks before setting them down with a slight grimace. Honestly, Ayame and her father had to come and teach these people what ramen really was! "Something I'm _sure_ Sasuke-kun wouldn't just throw away without a second's thought."

"Wait. Do you think he'd do that with what we gave him?"

"No, but I'm sure he'd do it to what Kaka-sensei gave him." Sakura sent Kakashi a mildly amused, mildly disgusted look before glancing back at Naruto's 'worried' face. She sighed. "Naruto, I'm sure Sasuke-kun won't throw away the pack of kunai we got him. He'd probably end up _losing_ them before throwing them away."

"You two…"

Sakura's back stiffened slightly as she turned to look at her sensei, who was staring straight at them with lazy eyes. "H-hai, Kaka-sensei?"

"You gave Sasuke kunai. While he was in jail."

She couldn't _quite_ read what was written in Kakashi's eyes, but whatever it was, she knew it _couldn't_ mean something good. "De_mo_! They're really nice kunai!"

Kakashi didn't reply, and merely turned away to continue the conversation he had been having with Sai.

Sakura was sure that Sasuke wouldn't get rid of the necklace that Hinata had gotten him; mainly because it wasn't just _any_ necklace. It had small opal stones on it, each with the Uchiha fan engraved in them, and in the middle of them all sat a single clear stone with a slightly fuzzy shape within it.

The shape, Sakura remembered with a slight upturn of her mouth, was that of the yin-yang sign; one, she knew, that stood for far more than just the balancing of the universe.

It stood for the relationship Hinata and Sasuke shared, and Sakura couldn't have ever made a better choice than that.

--

**A/N:** _Sharingan and Byakugan_ part III should be coming out sometime in the middle of next week…maybe sooner. _Stand in the Rain_ is still on undeterminable hiatus…but I _think_ I might be able to start it up again by next month.

This fic, as I said above, _hopefully_ will be finished by the end of the month. I dearly with that to become true. XD

**Read and review!**


	19. Secretive

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews!

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**Orange Petals**

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_Secretive_

Naruto groaned softly as he rolled his currently aching-really-badly-why-won't-it-stop?! shoulder in an attempt – failed, of course – to relieve it of at least _some_ of the pain it was in. He, Sai, and Sakura had been out training for a bit, having fun and whatnot, before he had had a direct hit to his shoulder from an attack of Sakura's. And he definitely would've been lying if he had said that it _didn't_ hurt.

"I should've taken Sakura-chan's offer to heal me when I had the chance…" Naruto muttered his regret to himself before wincing in pain once again. Currently he was headed to the pond – which at this time of day should've had a nice, coolish-warm feel to it – to soak his injured shoulder and to relax his aching body without being interrupted by unwanted company. Yet before he reached the _usually_ secluded plot of water, voices reached him; voices he _definitely_ recognized.

"He wears it all the time. He even wears it to bed."

"Pervert. I don't wear it to bed, and why are you even looking at me when I sleep anyway?"

"You're one of my cute little students, Sasuke! And as your current guardian, it's my job to make sure that you're still _there_!"

Naruto heard a soft chuckle followed immediately by a loud 'splash', indicating that someone had been forced into the water. He was certain he had heard the name 'Sasuke' and the words 'cute little students' and 'guardian', but for some reason he had trouble making the connection between who was talking and who was being talked _to_.

"So are you more comfortable, Hinata-chan?"

"Hai, I am, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto nearly fell flat on his face when he heard Hinata's soft voice and the name 'Kakashi' come out. Somewhere deep within, like deep in a spot he'd never want to traverse _ever again_, he had known that it was Kakashi…but it still was a bit…_creepy_.

Another loud splash followed by a "You've been acting weirder and weirder each day she's here. Sometimes I don't think you're even Kakashi anymore" reached his ears this time.

Somehow, what was going on over at the pond freaked him out a little more than it truly should've.

Slowly he pushed himself away from the tree and began to tip-toe away from the trio who weren't all that far away from him. Sure, he should've been estatic to have known that Hinata and Sasuke were in the vicinity of each other – it worked a _whole_ lot better that way in getting them together – but this…this was just too weird.

He could skip on the match-making for a day.

---

**A/N:** Mmm..I didn't really like the end so much. xP Ahh well.

**Read and review!** **The more reviews, the more likely I'll update tomorrow! XD**


	20. Transparent

**A/N:** Hallo…I'm tryin' to chuck these 'chapters' out as fast as I possibly can 'coz I have a brain surgery on March 3rd and I'm not really sure what I will be able to do for a while after that…so I'mma try to _not_ have to put any other story than _Stand in the Rain_ on hiatus.

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**Orange Petals**

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_Transparent_

She couldn't take it anymore.

One sigh had at first been alright, albeit a little strange, two had been a slight cause for concern. Three was more worrisome, but four was just downright _annoying_.

"Sasuke-kun…" Now. How could she pose the question _without_ sounding annoyed? "Are you…feeling alright? I mean, it's not like you to be so easy to…read."

Rather than glaring at her like she had expected for him to do, he merely glanced at her in mild defeat before returning dark eyes to the table in between them.

Yep…something was _definitely_ up.

"Okay, so…does it have anything to do with Naruto?" Head shake. No. "Sai?" Another. "Neji?" A slight stiffen, but still a 'no'. "Hm…Hinata?" Immediate stiffening.

She had hit the jackpot.

"So what happened between you and Hinata, Sasuke-kun?"

"_Nothing_ happened, Sakura." Sasuke glared at her like a caged animal would before looking outside the restaurant they were currently at. Quietly, almost as if to himself, he added, "And nothing ever will."

"Wait…what? Why?" Sakura blinked in confusion. Didn't they like each other? Weren't they on better terms now? So…why?

"She doesn't trust me."

Sakura truly hadn't been expecting for him to answer her query, and when he did, she looked at him in surprise only to find him with his eyes a little wider than normal and cast to the side.

Apparently _he_ hadn't expected for himself to answer her either.

"Oh Sasuke-kun…" Sakura sighed, expressing far more than just her sympathy – _not_ pity. She'd _never_ pity Sasuke – in that short, emotion-filled sentence.

All of which Sasuke noticed, and smiled ever-so-slightly at.

That too Sakura saw.

---

**A/N:** What…6 more:) This next one's unnaturally hard to write…so I'll try'n get it out ASAP!

**Read and Review!**


	21. Unavoidable

**A/N:** Ugh. I'm not-so-proud of this one. XD So that's why I'll post another one today…which probably won't be much longer. ::Sweatdrop:: But whateva'.

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**Orange Petals**

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_Unavoidable_

"…Teme just looked at us strangely, didn't he?"

"Shh, Naruto! He'll _hear_ you!"

"Let him hear! I'm not afraid!"

"_Baka!_ That's not the point! We're supposed to be watching him and Hinata, remember?!"

"Oh…right."

"'Oh right' he says! _You're_ the one who wanted to even _do_ this thing!"

A few moments of silence, then:

"Wait. Where's he going?!"

"I don't know. Doesn't look like Hinata's in the mood to talk about it, either."

"I hope nothing happened…" 'We all know how Teme is. Can't say that though.'

"Me too. I'll talk to Hinata, you find Sasuke-kun, alright?"

"Alright. I'll see you later, Sakura-chan."

Naruto stood just minutes after they had first sat down, Sasuke's excuse ringing in his ears. He really _didn't_ care about the teme's problems, but Sakura was and he _really_ didn't feel like getting pounded for ignoring what she had told him to do.

The confrontation was very much unwanted, and even more so unavoidable. Oh well, might as well make the most of it.

---

**A/N:** For some reason these things are getting harder and harder to write. X.x; I really don't know why! Darn writer's block.

**Read and review!**


	22. Vacuous

**A/N:** …At least I know people are reading 'coz of the hits. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be writing this and would probably end up just dropping it altogether, tho' it's so close to the end…

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**Orange Petals**

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_Vacuous_

If there was one thing she _should've_ learned from all the time she'd been with Sasuke, it was that he _hated_ to be followed without his consent.

But what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?

Sakura grinned cheekily to herself as she turned her body in such a way that she could see Sasuke without giving away her position behind a small thicket of trees. Minutes passed by as she watched Sasuke wait – he looked more like he was staking out the area more than anything else, impatience seeping in ever-so slowly. Then the soft rustling of footsteps on loose forest floor reached her ears.

Upon closer inspection, it was Hinata who had come across the small clearing.

She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, and had to strain even harder to hear them as they went to sit by the river they had been standing near. Cursing under her breath, Sakura glanced around to see if there was a way to get closer without alerting either ninja.

Which, she knew, was very much _im_possible.

She quietly sat down with a resigned sigh and rested her back on the tree she had moments ago been standing next to. She had gone through all that trouble to follow Sasuke here, hoping that he'd come across Hinata, and now that he had…

…she had no way of knowing what it was that they were saying.

Sakura sighed again, this time letting her forehead touch her knees. She had no choice but to wait for the boy to finish with whatever it was that he and Hinata were discussing.

A couple minutes later the quiet sound of walking that she recognized as distinctly Sasuke's reached her sensitive ears, causing her head to jerk back up quickly before stopping immediately and reminding herself that she was leaning against a tree. As Sasuke passed by, he glanced down at her blankly, before continuing onward.

He had noticed her, but that hadn't been the problem.

What had Hinata said to have made one of her best friends so…dead?

---

**Read and review!**


	23. Weak Minded

**A/N:** Err…hallo. :Sweatdrop: Sorry for not updating in like, forever…but school's crap and my history teacher assigned us to do like 4 hours of homework each day. VV God I hate AP U.S. History…

Anyway. I'm not too happy about this one…but w/e.

**Orange Petals**

_Weak-Minded_

"Sooo…Hinata-chan. How're you?"

At the sound of his voice, the purple-haired kunoichi jumped and turned to face him, surprise etched in her features. "O-oh! N-Naruto-kun…you surprised me." Hinata smiled softly as she wrung her hands together, another nervous habit that she had adopted over the years. "I'm f-fine, yourself?"

"I'm doing great!" Naruto grinned widely and lowered his voice before adding, "My ANBU test's tomorrow! I can't wait for it!"

"T-that's good, Naruto-kun! I know y-you'll do great on it." Hinata smiled softly as her mind wandered to the ANBU test that she knew she wouldn't take. It had been hard enough to pass the jounin test, but the ANBU one…

She knew that she couldn't pass that one even if she tried her best. Maybe that'd be because she had other goals in mind, but still!

Naruto merely nodded in response and awkwardly locked his eyes on a location off in the distance. He had finally found Hinata – _alone_ – and couldn't get around having to ask her what he had come to ask. "Err…Hinata-chan? Have you talked to Sasuke lately?"

Hinata's eyes widened slightly and immediately dropped to the ground in front of her, a soft blush gracing her cheeks. "N-no…w-why?"

"No reason." Naruto shrugged, and seemingly off-handedly added, "It's just he's not really acting much like himself. I just kinda figured that you'd know something about it. But since you don't…" Naruto trailed off and rolled his gaze toward Hinata, whose eyes were determinedly locked on the ground, the blush spreading farther.

Hinata lowered her head in response, mostly to hide the blush that she was _positive_ Naruto had already seen. When a few minutes of silence passed, Hinata sighed, her curiosity getting the better of her. "I-is he doing alright? I-I mean…he's not…sad…right?"

Internally, Naruto couldn't help but grin and pat himself on the back. He had definitely known that if he were to make it out like Sasuke was being all emo, Hinata wouldn't be able to hold in her curiosity for long!

Well…okay, so it had been Sakura's idea. But even so, he – _they_ – had been right!

He couldn't hold in the smirk as he said, "Nothing like that, Hinata-chan! He's just been really _happy_, which isn't a word I'd use when talking about Sasuke-teme."

"I s-see…" A tiny smile slipped out at the news, the blush staying in place. Although what happened yesterday had been highly embarrassing, she was happy that Sasuke was happy. That was enough to counteract _some_ of the embarrassment.

"Hinata-chan…" The smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, threatening to spread as he said, "You're blushing! Are you _sure_ you had nothing to do with it?"

As the dark red threatened to converge completely over the girl's face, Naruto's smirk changed into a largely growing smile. Hinata was so easy to see through…

…not that he was going to admit that Sakura had a hand in helping him with that, too.

**A/N:** Okay so…Naruto's not _as_…idiotic (XD) as before, 'coz he's getting smartening up lessons from Sakura! Yey! XD

**Read and review! There's only 3 more, one of which is already written!**


	24. Xanthous

**A/N:** I'm doing pretty good with keeping on my schedule! :) Maybe that's 'coz my updates are so far apart…but still. XD

Anyway. Here's the next chapter to _Orange Petals_!

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**Orange Petals**

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_Xanthous_

The dress, Sakura supposed, fit the new Hyuuga leader quite well.

It wasn't too bright or too dark, but was a rather soft shade of lavender with violet petals dotting here and there. To put it simply, the dress perfectly matched Hinata's eyes, which made Sakura smile.

Finally Hinata was becoming more girl-like, and Sakura could barely hold in her glee at the prospect of dressing up her friend's "girlfriend".

Girlfriend. _Sasuke's_ girlfriend.

Sakura smirked to herself. Hinata wasn't there just yet, but with a little nudging…

"S-Sasuke-kun! W-where are we going?"

Sakura turned upon hearing Hinata's soft voice, and grinned widely. Sasuke was dragging Hinata along, her small hand tucked in his larger one. She wasn't sure if they had already spotted her and _that_ was why Sasuke was making them retreat, or if Sasuke just wanted a change of scenery.

…Nah. He probably saw her at the beginning and had had plenty of time to leave before now, so maybe she wasn't _too_ far off with her second assumption. She never really could tell when it came to the Uchiha boy.

She heard Sasuke "Hn" in response, and couldn't hold in the chuckle as she followed the two 19-year-olds off of the main roads of Konoha. They walked on in silence, she quite a distance behind them so Sasuke wouldn't "run" again.

Where were they going? There wasn't much out this way except for the bath house and the lake a little farther out…

Sakura scrunched her brow in confusion as they passed the bath house and began to vere off in the direction of the lake. Why were they going there? Did they _really_ want to be alone, and weren't just trying to lead her on?

A few minutes later, when the lake came into view with the newly bloomed yellow blossoms covering the ground, Sakura stopped and hid behind a tree while they continued on to the lake's edge. At the distance she was away she couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but from the looks on their faces she could make up her own conversation for them. It was something like this:

"S-Sasuke, isn't this inappropriate? I m-mean…us…out here…alone…"

"Don't worry, Hinata. Sakura's here with us. Nothing's going to happen."

Sakura snapped out of her musing and blinked at Sasuke, who was staring at her out of the corner of his eye, a smirk settled in place. 'Okay, that's a little creepy. It's like he knows what I'm thinking…'

Sakura watched as Sasuke returned his gaze to Hinata, who was looking up at him, a slightly confused look in her eyes. When Hinata went to look in her direction, Sasuke rested his hand on her cheek to guide her attention back to him.

He, much to Sakura's surprise (and immense delight), did not drop his hand.

Now, Sakura was a normal girl. She knew what _usually_ came after that moment and had actually seen it happen several times with various people. But when it came to _Sasuke_ doing it…

Sakura reached up to touch her cheeks, and felt them burning. Because it was Sasuke it was too embarrassing to watch.

Sakura turned away and begun walking, only to miss the chuckling from Sasuke and a frantic "S-S-Sasuke-kun! I k-know y-you said y-you wanted to g-get S-Sakura-chan to s-stop f-following us, b-but did y-you have to d-do t-t-that?!" from Hinata.

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**A/N:** I actually have the next one written, so it should be up like, tomorrow. :)

**Read and review! There's only two left!**


	25. YinYang

**Orange Petals**

_Yin-Yang_

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Naruto stared down calmly at the scroll he held in his hand, a very small grin slipping into place. Glancing around quickly and not seeing anyone there, he tore off his ANBU mask and set it down next to him before refocusing on the scroll in front of him.

Without needing to open it he knew it was from Sakura.

But curiosity ate away at him, making him quickly remove the ribbons that bound it and set that aside like his mask. He then unrolled the scroll and begun to read. Inside laid only a couple of lines, but they managed to pull a soft laugh out of the blonde-haired boy.

_Hey Naruto! I think I won our little 'bet'! You'll see what I mean when you get back!_

_-Sakura_

"Sakura-chan…I knew you'd win the bet." Naruto laughed softly to himself as he rewound the scroll and tied the ribbons back on. "So Hinata-chan and Sasuke-teme are going to get married, huh? I wonder if they know."

"Forget about those two, I wonder if Neji knows."

"I doubt it." Naruto merely shrugged, not entirely surprised by the drop-in. "So how're things, Koinu?"

"Seinen and Shiruetto have things covered on the eastern and southern fronts. All we have to do is block them in from the west and the north and we have it done." Koinu paused a moment and sniffed lightly before grinning. "There's only a few of them; I think this might be the last group."

"Gah, I hope so." Naruto groaned as he stood and put the scroll in the pouch in his ANBU vest. "I really wanna get home for some ramen!"

Koinu curtly raised an eyebrow. "And _not_ check in on what Sakura was saying?"

"Are you _really_ that interested in teme's relationship?" Naruto paused and grinned. "Or _lack_ of one right now."

"I don't care about that manuke!" Koinu protested. "I just want to make sure that Hinata doesn't get this wedding-thing forced on her by Sakura! _You_ of all people should know how she is!"

Sadly, he _did_ know how Sakura was.

Shuddering slightly at the memory, Naruto set his mask into place and faced the tree that Koinu was currently in. "I _really_ don't wanna be attacked by Lee and his youth, so let's head out Kiba."

"Naruto…"

"What?"

"_Codenames!"_

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**A/N:** Who's who?

Well, obviously Koinu is Kiba and Seinen is Lee…but who's Shiruetto? Sai, of course! :) Why? Dunno. XD Just is. :nods:

So we have just one more to go!

**Read and review!**


	26. Zenith

**A/N:** Phew, last one!

I'm not entire proud of this one, since I _know_ I rushed it. But…at least it's out, right?

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**Orange Petals**

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_Zenith_

"Sakura-nee-sama! Look! It's a field of flowers!"

Sakura smiled down at the young girl and followed the direction she was pointing in with her eyes. The flower field that she was talking about wasn't too far off, and was full of multi-colored blossoms. Bending down so she was at eyelevel with the girl, Sakura said, "Shiori-chan, how about you go down there and pick some for your mother? I'm sure she'd love them."

A large grin grew onto Shiori face as she nodded her head quickly. "Hai! I'll be back, Nee-sama!"

Sakura laughed softly as Shiori begun running down to the flower field. That girl had far too much energy to use, and not enough time to use it. 'Even with the Hyuuga clan rules changed some, what would you expect?' Sakura thought to herself with a chuckle and sat down on the soft grass, her eyes trained on the eight-year-old child.

The girl reminded her so much of Hinata and Sasuke that it was kind of scary, even if she _was_ their daughter. She had her father's smirk and knew how to distance herself like her father did, although she typically ended up falling into a fit of giggles immediately after. Appearance-wise she resembled her mother more, with her long dark violet hair and soft facial features. She was also prone to stuttering on occasion which Sakura attributed to her being Hinata's daughter, as well.

Shiori was a smart girl for her age, and was being raised in the 'clan way', although the one who, for the most part, was raising her wasn't even a part of a clan; meaning herself. The young girl found everything to be a game, which ended up being a double-edged sword in that she'd do everything asked of her, but then go running off during the middle of something, believing that they had been playing.

Which, at times, irritated her more than all else.

With a jolt, Sakura realized that while she had been lost in thought Shiori had run off to Kami-knew-where. She wasn't entirely _too_ worried – she still was able to sense her chakra nearby, after all – and merely decided on watching the area she had disappeared from for a few more minutes before going out to search for the girl. Within a couple of minutes the bobbing of Shiori's head could be seen through the trees as she came running back, a huge grin on her face.

"Look, Nee-sama! Aren't the flowers pretty?"

"Hai, they are very pretty." Sakura smiled down at the girl, thinking that nothing could be better than spending time with the innocence of children and watching them as they worked.

Innocent or no, Shiori smiled up at Sakura, the hand that didn't have flowers in it closing tight around a chain in hopes of keeping it from Sakura's eyes. She had been told not to show it to her, but to her father instead; or even her mother. But not Sakura.

Her smile was about as innocent as they could come, but her reason behind it was anything but. But of course, being at her age she couldn't have known the implications of what she held in her hand.

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**A/N:** And that's the end of _Orange Petals_! I would talk about the sequel that I've been thinking of here, but a lot of you (at least, I hope most of you O.o) are also reading _Sharingan and Byakugan_ and are waiting for the last part…which is where I'm going to put the information for it at.

I just have a question for you people though. Would you be interested in the sequel if it were _only_ centered around Shiori? Of course there's going to be others with her, but there won't really be much appearances of Sasuke and Hinata for…certain reasons that I'll reveal in the A/N in _Sharingan and Byakugan_. So yeah, would you? Answer it in a review!

**Read and review!**


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